What's Hot: Arlington County Approves Missing Middle Zoning | Move-In Ready Townhomes at EYA's Northeast DC Neighborhoods
What It's Like to Live in a Micro-Unit

What is it like to live in a 225 square foot apartment? How about a 225 square foot apartment inside a shopping mall?
Residents of the Providence Arcade in Rhode Island, where the very small apartments have been available to renters for two years, told Fair Companies about their experience in the units, which spread out over two floors above ground floor retail in the country’s oldest shopping mall. Pricing for the furnished units starts at $550 a month. The project was designed by Northeast Collaborative Architects.

Two of the women interviewed indicated that the units were more convenient than normal apartments, because both live in them part-time. Naz Karim, a doctor pursuing international emergency medicine, told the site she’ll be splitting her time between the unit in Providence and Rwanda. She said the lack of a stove — a measure intended to circumvent Rhode Island’s rules on the minimum allowable size of an apartment – didn’t bug her much. The unit “is really all you need for one person,” Karim said, noting she eats mostly canned soup and Lean Cuisine.
story continues below
loading...story continues above
“(As a doctor), you’re so crazy-busy that you don’t have a lot of time on your hands, and you’re never really home,” she said. Still, the unit’s tiny closet “has been a struggle,” Karim admits.

Sharon Kinnier, a Baltimore-based business owner who works in a lab in Providence part-time, told Fair Companies the unit is the perfect size for her when she’s in town for work.
“You don’t have a lot to get dirty, you don’t have a lot to clean up,” she said, pointing at the bathroom and the bed. “OK, so, I missed the most important part: the kitchen. You have everything in here but a stove, and if you’re a single person in the city, chances are you’re not cooking anyway. I’ve never used the dishwasher because I’ve never had enough dishes dirty to actually put in the dishwasher.”
Photography by Ben Jacobsen.
See other articles related to: fair companies, micro units, micro-units, microunits, providence arcade
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/what_its_like_to_live_in_a_micro-studio_in_a_providence_mall/9851.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever

The 650,000 square-foot project, designed by Adjaye Associates and Hickok Cole, will ... read »

The new development keeps humming along in DC's Buzzard Point.... read »

It is early in the year, but there are already a number of areas around DC where home... read »

Today, UrbanTurf is taking a look at the tax benefits associated with buying a home t... read »

If you are tired of getting lost in their stores, IKEA has a new location planned tha... read »
- A First Look at the Five-Building Centerpiece of the St. Elizabeth's Redevelopment
- The Stacks, Brooklyn Bowling and a Vermeer: The 5 Developments on the Boards for Buzzard Point
- DC's 14 Million-Dollar Neighborhoods in 2023
- A Look At The Tax Benefits of Buying a Home Through a Trust
- IKEA Opening Small Format, Delivery Only Location in Pentagon City
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Visit guides.urbanturf.com or start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro